To some, Twitter followers are just a number. But to businesses, these followers are so much more. They’re people that actively choose to listen to what you’re tweeting about, enjoy having a conversation with you and want to be a part of your social strategy. Twitter is where they go to learn, connect and interact, and that cycle is built into their daily schedule (If you’re an avid Twitter user, you’ll be nodding along right about now), which is all proof that your Twitter following is worth a lot more than just being labelled with a number.
Don’t just take our word for it though- the proof is in the pudding when it comes to the value of Twitter followers, and that pudding has come straight from the Twitter oven. After discovering a new business on Twitter, 25% of users made a purchase, whilst 83% of tweeters have more positive associations with a brand after receiving a reply from them. So, how do you go about increasing that number of followers?
1. Determine your tone of voice
No, we don’t mean whether you’re tweeting like a squeaky five-year-old or a teenage boy. What we mean is, if your brand was a person, how would they talk? Formal? Chatty? Confident? Lively? If you’re a funeral service, we wouldn’t expect to see sarcastic tweets, but tweets that have a compassionate and calming tone. However, for an ice cream company, we’d expect to engage with tweets that have a bit of liveliness to them.
2. Connect with local businesses
Social local-ness is just as important as local in the SEO world. People LOVE supporting local businesses. It gives them a community buzz, so take advantage of that. Connect with other Tweeters in your area, whether they’re businesses, new sources, events or just people. Get involved with sharing your neighbours news and content, and always use local hashtags- especially if you’re tweeting about something that will benefit those who share the same first two letters of your postcode.
3. Actively like, retweet, reply and follow
If you’re living in the bubble of ‘tweet and followers will come’, then I’m afraid I’m about to burst it. Does just having a website bring you all your leads? It might bring you some, but the ones you really want, you have to work for, and Twitter is no exception. When people follow you, follow them back if they’re who you want to be talking to. Like tweets that you find interesting or complimentary towards you, retweet content you love and want to share, and always, always, always reply- especially if a user is asking you a question, or has had a negative experience with your brand. It’s like a wound; you need to bandage it up ASAP to smoothen out the healing process.
4. Become a Twitter leader
If your mind has zoomed straight to the likes of President Obama or J.K Rowling, then we need to reel you back into some shallower water, but we like your thinking. When talking about leadership to gain followers though, we’re referring to more of a micro-leader figure. Become the account users head straight to when there is a new industry update. This will not only help to build your name as a leader, but will lead to your followers retweeting your tweets to their network of followers.
5. Mix up your content
Spice up your followers’ life with some variety. Don’t just give them 140 characters of words every single time. Throw in a picture, mix in a video, attempt a poll and even try your hand at exploring the world of gifs if you haven’t already. Boring tweeters lead to followers unfollowing, which is something you don’t want. (And in case you’re wondering, even if you are a funeral service, pictures and polls can still work for you, just maybe be careful as to what gifs you pair with what tweets!)
6. Discover a scheduling pattern
Want to know the best thing about Twitter? There is no such thing as too many tweets- unless you’re posting every second of every day, but we’re just discounting you from this statement. On Facebook, you can just about get away with twice a day, but Twitter, that’s like the bare minimum. Because you only have 140 characters, users expect plenty of short, snappy updates. They like them, so for goodness sake, take advantage of this. Find out when your followers are most active. Morning and evenings are usually peak periods, then utilise a scheduling tool like Hootsuite or Sprout Social and schedule to your heart’s content.
7. Jump on the events and national days calendar
National Toast Day- bet you didn’t even know it existed, but it does. So why not share your favourite toast recipes, post pictures of all your staff enjoying toast for breakfast or whip a poll to find out your followers fave topping. It all may seem like a lot of effort, but it gives you something else to talk about with your followers, and to make sure you really join in the conversation, don’t forget to hashtag.
8. #AlwaysHashtag
Hashtags are the ultimate tool. Technically, they’re not a tool, but really they are. They’re topical, they trend, and above all, they get you found. They put your tweets in front of the right users who are scrolling and following a particular hashtag. Going to an event? Hashtag it. Written a new blog post? Hashtag it. Brought out a new product? Hashtag it. Like there’s silver to every lining, there’s a hashtag to every tweet- just don’t go overboard. Hashtag overkill isn’t a fun way to lose followers.
9. Use every Twitter tool
We’ve already touched on scheduling tools and hashtags, but there are a few others that are essential to your Twitter strategies. Lists are super simple, but super beneficial. They are essentially a list of curated Twitter accounts in one place. Want to see what all your competitors are up to? Create a list, we’d suggest making it private. Want to find out the latest news in your industry but don’t want to go to every single account?Make a list. See, easy. The other tool we have to mention is Twitter Analytics. It’s geared more towards the paid side of Twitter, however there are some key elements you can use and apply to your organic Twitter strategy. Take note of ages, gender percentage, location and interests- knowledge is power, especially when it comes to gaining more of these like-minded followers!